Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:50:44 -0700
Reply-To: Thomas Jefferson Kitts <thomas@THOMASKITTS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Thomas Jefferson Kitts <thomas@THOMASKITTS.COM>
Subject: Re: Dometic won't light troubleshooting
In-Reply-To: <c4e7c5f90807161031kd207dc5qf24d7773139b7659@mail.gmail.com>
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Well, took a few moments to take apart the burner assembly to see if
there was anything obviously wrong.
The piezo igniter was firing, sparking every time, though I tightened
up the gap a little anyway.
I unscrewed the gas nozzle from the box and it looks free and clear.
Can see a little dot of light when I look inside and nothing seem
clogged. The long thin tube it fits into, the burn chamber I guess,
about the length of a cigarette with little slots on the rounded end
did have a small spider cocoon in it but it was small and I cleaned it
out. Couldn't see that blocking air or propane and preventing ignition.
I blew air though the propane pipe leading into the burn chanmber and
I could hear it flowing at the switch where I had previously
disconnected it. So that part of the piping was free and clear too.
The square assembly the burn assembly fits into looked pretty clean
and soot-free so I don't think the failure to fire up on Propane has
anything to do with the fridge not working.
---
I then pulled off the heat shielding above the burner, where the 110
and 12 volt wires go down into the so-called hot area. Pulled away the
insulation. Again no visible breaks or disconnects there.
I don't have the electrical tools to test circuits so I'm stumped.
Can't run the Dometic on gas. Can't run it on electricity. So what now?
Any ideas? . . .
Thomas
On Jul 16, 2008, at 10:31 AM, neil N wrote:
> I hear ya.
>
> Trouble shoot the AC wiring, element etc. first. Mark Drillock posted
> some useful info in that regard (he really knows his stuff)
>
> Confirm if it will work on AC first.
>
> They are separate from each other, but all 3 modes do the same thing:
> heat the chemicals
>
> The heater elements could be contained in one unit, or two seperate
> ones.
>
> Make sure they are seated properly and that the wiring to/from is ok.
> There should be a brass screw to hold the element(s) in place. There
> should be insulation (a special kind. don't loose it) around the
> inlet/exhaust tubes. The chemical tube should contact the heater
> element(s) and exhaust tube from LP combustion box, then gradually
> spread apart. Pics:
>
> http://web.mac.com/tubaneil/iWeb/Site%205/ThermInsPICS.html
>
> Check out the pic on lower RH side. It kind of shows the contact
> between the pipes. (this is a 182A which is slightly different than
> the 182B..... if that's your model)
>
> Here's a page I wrote on what I learned fixing my 182A. It's not
> current, but may help:
>
> http://web.mac.com/tubaneil/iWeb/Site%205/Dometic%28fridge%29.html
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> Neil.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 10:20 AM, Thomas Jefferson Kitts
> <thomas@thomaskitts.com> wrote:
>> Neil:
>>
>> Burping the baby had no effect. Flipped it upside down yesterday as
>> you
>> suggested after lunch and then righted it this morning and plugged
>> it in to
>> 110v.
>>
>> No cool inside, or hot outside. Been about two hours.
>>
>> I think I'll disassemble the burner next and see if there is any
>> thing
>> obvious preventing that from working on propane, like a clogged
>> burner.
>> Starting to care less and less about this Dometic . . .
>>
>> Thomas
>>
>>
>> On Jul 16, 2008, at 9:14 AM, neil N wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Frank.
>>>
>>> I suggested Thomas burp his fridge as in this case it didn't work on
>>> any mode. A known working AC source didn't even work! --- :^) Hence
>>> the burping suggestion.
>>>
>>> And Thomas. I too am sitting on the fence regarding "To Dometic or
>>> Not
>>> To Dometic". That Italian fridge sounds like the one. If the 182B
>>> Dometic I have on the bench doesn't do any better in terms of
>>> relighting after turning thermostat down, then I'm going with the
>>> Viagra, er Vitrifrigo. Personally, I can't see throwing money into
>>> new
>>> parts to keep a Dometic going. I'll put that money to the
>>> Vitrifrigo.
>>>
>>> BTW, I'm pretty sure you can get the Vitrifrigo in an AC/DC or
>>> just DC
>>> setup. If you go with DC only, I think you could use a battery
>>> charger
>>> to run it from shore power if needed, and of course one can use
>>> solar.
>>>
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Neil.
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Neil Nicholson '81 JettaWesty "Jaco
> http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
> http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
> http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
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